Dr. Godwin-Starks is truly a dynamic woman. The recently retired IPFW communications professor runs the only full-gospel radio station owned and operated by women in Fort Wayne, and is also heavily committed to empowering women. Yet somehow this effervescent grandmother with the self-described “gift of gab” manages to spend quality time with her family and live her life to the fullest with God, class and excellence in mind.
Dr. Godwin-Starks was bitten by the radio bug early on in her career, reporting the news for her high school radio station in 1967. In 1972 she moved to Fort Wayne, where she continued her work in radio broadcast while pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in Public and Interpersonal Communications at IPFW. She hosted a radio show on APR (WBAA West Lafayette, IN) called “Let’s Talk” in 1992, where she continues today to interview New York Times best-selling authors. “I’m the best-kept secret in Fort Wayne because nobody knows I’m here,” Godwin-Starks says with a laugh. She then furthered her education with a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Indiana Wesleyan University and a Doctorate in Ministry from Cornerstone Bible College International.
Finding the need for her own station, she obtained a low-frequency radio license in 2006 and launched WQSW-LP 100.5 through her corporation, Quasi, Inc.: Stellar Women on the Move. “The significance of our name, Quasi, refers to stellar bodies called quasars that move across the sky and intercept radio waves,” Godwin-Starks explains. “Stellar bodies, stellar women on the move.”
The radio station is home to three shows: Let’s Talk, Let’s Talk the Music Notes, where she interviews Christian musicians, and Wonders in Grace, where she teaches an International Sunday school lesson. “I have a passion for women and women’s issues,” she says. “We use mass communication in our mission to empower women, to educate them with information on issues like healthcare, family, domestic violence and spiritual enlightenment—anywhere we feel they need help.”
For the last 16 years, Dr. Godwin-Starks has led a book group called Reading with Stellar Women on the Move. She also recently started Colorful Women, an adult coloring book group that meets every 6-8 weeks using coloring as a means of therapeutic grace. “I’m always focused on women,” she says. “In October we do a major show called Battered Women’s Silent Tears to examine domestic violence in the United States, partnering with the Zonta Club of Fort Wayne and participate in a statewide march in Indianapolis. I am always looking to be of assistance to women and whatever issues we may face.”
Godwin-Starks has faced hurdles in the industry by choosing to play Christian music, a choice which limits her ability to fund the radio station. Yet, she has found strength and support from her faith and those close to her. “My husband is one of my strongest supporters through all of this, because he believes in my dream and in my vision,” she says. “I want to own my own radio tower because it would allow me to keep more of my income and to blanket a portion of the southern part of Fort Wayne where my station doesn’t currently reach.” She has embarked on a $100,000 capital campaign through GoFundme.com to raise funds to build a tower and to purchase much-needed equipment for the station.
Aside from professional obstacles, Godwin-Starks has had her own share of personal struggles to overcome. She lost her mother at the age of 11, and her father at age 22. “But, the hardest thing for me was when I was diagnosed with breast cancer,” she says. “And, deciding that I was going to live—because I believe we have a choice. The day of my surgery, I recalled a Bible story where a man was told he would die, and he turned his face to the wall. That day, I turned to the wall and said, ‘God, if this is as difficult as it gets, then I’m good.’ It was my realization that I was not going to die from cancer. Today, I continue to live, and I’m not looking back.”
For more information about Quasi, Inc., please visit stellarwomen.com.
